Video endoscopes have been in general use since the 1980s for viewing the inside of the human body. Endoscopes are typically flexible or rigid devices that have an endoscope tip including an imaging unit, such as a digital camera or a scanned beam imager, configured for collecting light and converting the light to an electronic signal. The electronic signal is sent up a flexible tube to a console for display and viewing by a medical professional such as a doctor or nurse.
To improve performance, specialized endoscopes have been developed to best accomplish their intended function. For example, upper endoscopes are used for examination of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum, colonoscopes are used for examining the colon, angioscopes are used for examining blood vessels, bronchoscopes are used for examining the bronchi, laparoscopes are used for examining the peritoneal cavity, and arthroscopes are used for examining joint spaces. Instruments to examine the rectum and sigmoid colon, known as flexible sigmoidoscopes, have also been developed. The discussion of endoscopes herein generally applies to these and other types of endoscopes, and the term “endoscope” as used herein encompasses all these and other such devices.
Scanned beam endoscopes are a fairly recent innovation, and an example of a scanned beam endoscope is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/873,540 (“′540 application”) entitled SCANNING ENDOSCOPE, hereby incorporated by reference. FIG. 1 show a scanned beam endoscope 10 disclosed in the ′540 application. The scanned beam endoscope includes a control module and monitor, all of which may be mounted on a cart 22, and collectively referred to as console 20. The scanned beam endoscope further includes an endoscope tip 30 having a scanning tip 32 with a scanning module configured to scan a beam across a field-of-view (FOV) and detection optical fibers (not shown) that collect reflected light from the FOV and transmit the signals, either as optical signals or electrical signals if converted using an optical-to-electrical converter at the scanning tip 32, to the console 20 for further processing.
The control module includes a scanning tip controller 16 for controlling the scanning of the beam from scanning tip 32 and an image processor 18 that processes image data signals received from the scanning tip 32 characteristic of the FOV. The console 20 communicates with a handpiece 26 through an external cable 28, which is connected to the console 20 via connector 24. The handpiece 26 is operably coupled to the endoscope tip 30 and allows the user to manipulate the position and image collection functions of the endoscope tip 30.
The endoscope tip 30 and scanning tip 32 thereof are configured for insertion into a body cavity for imaging internal surfaces thereof. In operation, the scanning tip 32 scans a beam of light over a FOV, collects the reflected light from the interior of the body cavity with the detection optical fibers (not shown), and sends image data signals representative of an image of the internal surfaces to the image processor 18 for image processing. A video image of the FOV is generated by the image processor 18 according to the time-sequential pattern through which the beam of light is scanned. The image generated by the image processor 18 is displayed on the monitor 14 for evaluation by a medical professional. While the scanned beam endoscope is an effective endoscope, the detection optical fibers (not shown) of the scanning tip 32 can only be used to collect reflected light from the FOV, which consequently limits the information about the tissue or organ being examined.